Automatic is a 1989 album released by Sharpe + Numan (a collaboration between Gary Numan and jazzkeyboardist/producer Bill Sharpe, member of the jazz fusion group Shakatak). The album was an attempt to recapture their success of their collaboration single "Change Your Mind", which reached number 17 in the UK charts in 1985. Although "Change Your Mind" was initially supposed to be a one-off single, Numan recalled that "the whole experience was great fun and Bill and I left the door open for more work together."[1] However, Numan was ambivalent about recording a Sharpe + Numan album:
“
After the third Sharpe and Numan single we decided to make a Sharpe and Numan album. My dad talked about it as a 'second string to our bow.' I like Bill very much, he is a very gifted writer and player, but I didn't really want a second string to my bow. I was concerned, as I had been from the start with all the collaborations I was 'encouraged' to get involved in, that it would alienate and drive away the few fans I had left. Loyalty could only be stretched so far.[2]
”
Numan wrote the majority of the song lyrics on Automatic and performed the lead vocals, however, he did not contribute to the writing of the album's music. Backing vocals were provided by Tessa Niles, who had sung on Numan's four preceding solo albums. Automatic has a more lightweight-pop and commercial style in comparison to Numan's solo material of the time, although its sound is not especially incongruous in the Numan discography.
Automatic includes "Change Your Mind" and a remixed version of the third Sharpe + Numan single, "No More Lies" (1988, UK#34). The second Sharpe + Numan single, "New Thing From London Town" (1986, UK#52) was not included on Automatic, presumably because it had already been included (albeit in re-recorded form) on Numan's 1986 solo album, Strange Charm. "I'm on Automatic" was the only single to be released from Automatic; it reached #44 on the UK singles chart. The album itself reached #59 on the UK Album Chart (11 spots lower than Numan's solo album, Metal Rhythm, which was released 9 months before).[3] Its disappointing sales led to plans for a second Sharpe + Numan album being abandoned, however, the electro-jazz-pop style of Automatic would influence the general sound of Numan's next solo album, Outland (1991). Automatic itself remains out of print; it has never been re-released since its debut in 1989.
Numan expressed dissatisfaction with Automatic's lack of promotion on the part of Polydor Records. Of the album itself, he recalled:
“
I had nothing against the Sharpe and Numan album. I think it's a good album actually, well written and beautifully produced. If my own [solo] career had been going well I would have had no qualms whatsoever about making that album, because my own status and musical direction would have been solid and successful. It was because my own career was taking on a slightly aimless feel that I was so concerned.[4]
